Sulphur burner



Sept. 26, 1933. GILLETT SLPHUR BURNER Filed June 28, 1929 l Il [NJ/ENTOR Mg TTORNEY Patented Sept. 26, 11933 UNITEDSTATES SULPHUR BURNER f v .Y LowryGillettjSyosset, N.'Y. Leroy S. Foster,

Evansville, Ind., administratorY of` said Lowry,l ..Giilett, deceascd, assignor to General Chemical l Company, New New York Appear-ion Jimezs, 1929;.- seri'al Nuisettes A 13 claims. (ci. z3- 278i The most important trend in modern sulphuric acid practice vis in the directionof greater economy and efficiency of operation, because the slight margin of prot requires unusually large-A y scale production. Tothis endthere'has been a notable effort to reduce crieliminate the'elaborate, cumbersome and expensivepurication' equipmentfor the gaseszcoming from the sulphur'burners, either by -some sort of pre-treatment of the available sulphur supply before it entersV the burners, or by the use of catalysts of a type that' will not be prejudicially affected by the impurities in Athe gases comingv from the burners. 4

Since the so-calledfcontinuously-operating sulphur burners actually require'more or lessIl frequent-shut-downs forcleaning out the accu-v mulations of ashes in the burneritself, andare thus not actually continuous in. operation, the eiiort has-been made top-mitigate the evil of ash accumulation in the burner and at the same time secure a better quality ofv sulphur dioxide gas l coming from the burner by first meltingthe sulphur supply, thus permitting some or most of the impurities. therein to pass oi in the gaseous form, if they be volatile, or to settle out, if they be non-Volatile, and then injectingunder pressure a spray ermist of the liquid sulphur `into the b urner. n y ,4 t

' 'By these and similar or other means the objective of ash removal and gas purification has been attained in part, but only throughl the introduction of additional equipment, complicated and expensive, as, for example, in sometypes of burners Whichrequirethe use vof afsteam boiler for generating Athe steam that is subsequently piped into steam-heated vessels for melting the sulphur, the boilernneriving its f h'eat fromfa source wholly outside the burner itself orindirectly from the burner through the agency of the l hot gases after their issuancefrom the combustion chamber. Also, the introduction of other accessory devices such as pumps `for transferring the molten sulphur,injectors.etc.,f while they tendl towards'the elimination oi the gas-purification equipment, all have the unfortunate eiect' of introducing other complicationsof expensive equipment into anotherpart 'of the system, 'all Yorkr, N. Y., a corporationoi? freed of much of its impurities, may flow-d own- Ward through a pipe under its'own head of pres V Within the base of the burner. vj' One-or several air-.inlets preferablyintroduce sure, lthereby forming a pool of molten sulphur molten burning sulphur,inf addition to which `air u sulphur is partially oxdizedby'the incoming 'airV and partially sublimed. TheA gas with itsven'a;

65., blasts ofair beneath thesurf'aceof thepool or" is preferably admitted over the poolQ; Here 4the trainedl sulphur passes through an opening vinto .Y

fvertical series of brickwork chambersand. arches withini'atight metal shell.` lThe burner can" be readily.- providedfwith an air jacket, to 'protect to secure the vdesired operating temperature'in lthose in the vicinity `from theintense heat and j the burner. ."Ihe reservoir or rmelting pan is pref`v t erably`v placed on top vof this vertical burner, al-.I

though. it might be located else'vvhere'about` the i A burner Where theheat of the latter could be .dif-l rectly utilized 'formelting the sulphur` andvmain taining a molten supply. i

The .Warmed jacket air is advantageously .uti-

lized to. form a drait to carry'away thefumes over the melting pot or pan, which isc overedfbyan oftake hood capable of being raised in order that' impurities maybe removed fromv the rsupply'rof molten Sulphur.

c The accompanying drawing' illustrates-invertlcalf section 'a' preferred embodiment of the burner, showing also a portion of a storagebin and indicating in: elevation a suitable elevator con'- veyer. f

. rReferring-to this drawing, the burnen---Whic-:h.v

may be regarded as a combined melter, .sublimer and combustion chamber, has a'simple steelgshell 1, preferablyv circular Valthough it might .be of other shape, lined withv brick 2. vIts dimensions may vary considerably. .The burner contains a series of brickarchesl 3, 4 and 5,p`referably three in number, V in addition to the top arch.` 6, .this

top'arch being pigeonholedin such manner as to afford suiiicient heat, but not anexcess,fto the pan '7. The amount of heat appliedto the bottom ofl the pan can bee'asilyladjusted bythenumber' of pigeonholes 8 which are left open oriclosed' up, or light insulation may be put between lthe arch-and the pan, This' pan or vkettlemay be constructed of any suitable materiaL'although I prefer to use cast-iron. It may be bolted or nutted .to'a flangeof the shell 1, and its-bottom "is covered -vvith loose. brick 9,?Which may b e ordinary brick, carborundum brick, or any other type inofst suitable for the purpose. By removingror putting'4 back more orless ofthese loose brick, the heat" g or the sulphur in the pan 'can eefre'gmatea to keep the sulphurlin a readily owable condition without danger of overheating.

The chamber 10 in the base of the burner, below thev arch 3, is a subliming and primary burning chamber. This chamber preferably has a hopper 'bottom provided with a centralr clean-out opening tightly closed bya door 11. This chamber is designed to hold a'pool of molten sulphur a constituting the immediate supply Vfor burning. j

A number of air-blast pipes 12 connected with a source of supply of air under 'pressure enter this chamber and are so disposed that their jetdelivering ends are below thesurface of the pool.

These jets multiply the burning surface of the molten sulphur and open up the scum which tends to'form on the surfaceof `the pool. Additional air is preferably admitted to this chamber, above the pool,Y through one or'in'ore air inlets 13.

The air admitted to the chamber 10 is limited to fan amount which will not chill the reaction at this stage,y and .is much less than is required for oxidation of all'the sulphur taken from the pool a to SO2;

. The gas formed this chamber, carrying with itl much sublirned and unconverted sulphur, rises through an opening 14 in arch 3.y The gaseous mixture then circulates in a combustion chamber 15 between the arches 3 and 4, finding its outlet from thischamber throughan opening 16 inthe arch 4. y ,Y

When the gas enters the chamber 14 it is met l andv deiiected by a mainair supply delivered under suitable pressure, preferably about five pounds,

through an inlet'37 adjacent the opening 14. The

air inlet 37 is preferablyconnected with a source of supply` of airunderv pressure less than that supplied to the 'jet pipes 12 (in other words, the pressure of air to the pipes 12 is boosted sufficiently) and the amount of air admitted to the charnber 15 is considerably greater than the total 'amount which enters the chamber 10.y

- The burning mixture of air and gas passesl from the chamber 15 through thev openinglG into-a second combustion chamber 17, and from this 'chamber it flows through an opening 18 into a nal combustion chamber 19 beneath the toparch 6. An offtake 20 from the upper'portion of this chamber conducts away the' sulphurdioxide gas, nitrogen and the u-ncombined oxygen which remains. Y The chambers 15, 17 and 19 may be Yregarded as divisions of a combustion chamber. Air may be admittedtov one or more .of these' chambers vor divisions; i ,i i The shellr of the burner; is surrounded, from vthe top to about the level of the arch 3, by an air jacket 21, having inlets 22 for atmospheric air at the bottom and a dampened outlet 23 for heated air` at ,the upper end. The circulation of air through this jacket is adjustable so as to keep optimum 4working temperatures in the burner and also to provide a fairlydenite temperature inside the jacket'for the purpose of keeping the molten sulphur in free owing condition in a feed pipe 24 which leads downward from the pan 7 to the' basin of the chamber liLthis-pipe extending f or the greater part of its -lengthwithin the air jacket. Molten sulphur is free-flowing at low and at high temperatures, but at intermediate -temperaturesiwill not ow readily under static head.V The airjacketlends itself most .advantageously to keeping the column of liquid sulphur vinthe downtake in a free flowing condition. However, other means or arrangements may be emvention. I

ployed for thisV purpose.. A valve-25 may beprovided for regulating the feedof, molten sulphur through the pipe to maintain'the pool a at the proper level. v

The raw sulphur is preferably stored in a bin .26 at one side of the burnenand is-delivered by any suitable regulator 27, such'as' a knife-feed,

reciprocating or plunger-feed, star-feed, or the like, adjusted to vthe requirement of rthe melterV pan 7, to an elevator 28 which carries the sulphur and deposits it infthe p an at one side thereof. The sulphur becomes sufficiently molten in its slow passage to the opposite side v of the pan, where the overflow outlet 29 to the upper endof the feed pipe 24 is located. In this pan or reservoir opportunity is afforded for` impurities in the sulphur to evolve. as gas or to settle to the boti tom.` Theopen upper end of the kpipe 24 located above'the bottomof the pan determines the` level and thereforethe quantity of the molten sulphur supply from lwhich the internal pool Vis fed,

The'melting pan is provided withl a-'cover or hood 30 for carrying away vapors, and this cover is raisable by means indicated at 31 to allowof the introduction of suitable tools for clearing away the accumulation of scum and impurities which collect on the surface of the molten sulphur f and on the-bottom of the pan. Such Yoperations do notnecessitate, and do avoid, interruptingAV the continuous operation of the burner. i f

A guard 32 surrounding the inlet 29 of pipe 24 and extending for a distance above and below the level ofthemolten supply, keeps scum impurities.

`The dampered outlet 23 from the air-'jacket 21.v HD

from reaching the gravity feed pipe.

is connected by a conduit33 with the interior of ythe hood 3'0, discharging the warmed jacket air into the hood chamber at 34 so as to create a draft i l which aids in carrying oif fumes through the duct 35 leading from the hood. v It will be understoodV that the conduit 33' will be provided with flexibility or will be detachable so Vasto .permit 'the raising of the hood.v A clean-out 36 is shown at a lower portion'of the pipe 24 for clearing it in event'of its becoming choked. j

' A sulphur burner such as has been described can be constructed at a moderate iirst cost and f its maintenance charges are'comparative'ly low.; `It also requires lessground space and less build-'- ing to house it than do ordinary 'sulphur burners.

Simplicity and vreiliciency, and the ability to operate 'continuously over verylong periods witherences to air kin the specification and claims are to be understood in this for convenience, Vand are generalsense.

Iclaim; Y' Y l. In a sulphur burner, the combination of a Yiis reservoir adapted to contain a pool of molten sulphur, the reservoir being so positioned withrespect to the burner that the sulphurin the reservoir is maintained molten by heat transmitted di- 'Y rectly from the burner, a chamber in the burner, a pipe for feeding molten sulphur from .the reservoir to the chamber, means for admitting combustion-supporting gas to the chamber, a combustion chamber disposed above said first-mentioned chamber for burning the sulphur volatilized in the first-mentionedchamber. f

2. A sulphur burner comprising a chamber adapted yto contain a pool of molten sulphur,

means for admitting combustion-supportinggas to the chambena sulphur-melting reservoir posi`l tioned in directheat transfer relation with the ,burner so that the sulphur inthe reservoiris y maintained molten by heat transmitted from the burner, and a pipe for feeding molten sulphur from the reservoir tothe chamber.

3. A sulphur burner comprising a shell, a chamber in the shell adapted -to contain a pool of molten sulphur, means for admitting combustion-supporting gasto the chamber, a sulphurmelting reservoir positioned on top of said shell whereby the sulphur in the reservoir is main-v tained molten by heat transmitted directly from said burner, anda pipe for feeding molten sulphur from said reservoir to said chamber.

4. In a sulphur burner the combination of a reservoirk adapted to contain a pool of molten sulphur, the reservoir being so positioned with respect to the Vburnerthat the sulphur inthe reservoir is maintained molten by heat trans-I mitted directly from the burner, a chamber in the burner, a pipe for feeding molten sulphur from the reservoir to the chamber, means for ad mitting combustion-supporting gas beneath the.Y

surface of the molten sulphur in the chamber, and

a combustion chamber disposed above said flrstmentioned chamber for burning the sulphur volatilized in the first-mentionedchamben 5. In a sulphur burner, a chamber adapted to contain a pool of molten sulphur, means for introducing combustion-supporting gasbeneath the surface of the sulphur in thel pool, a reservoir adapted toV contain a supply of molten sulphur,

and means for feeding molten sulphur from the j reservoir to said chamber. y

6. A 'sulphur burnercomprising a subliming chamber at the base thereof adapted to contain a pool of molten sulphur, means for supplying combustion-supporting gas to the subliming chamber, a series of combustion chambers arranged vertically over the subliming chamber and vin communication therewith for burning in the presence of combustion-supporting gas the volatilized sulphur in the gases rising from the subliming chamber, a sulphur-melting reservoir on top of the burner arranged in heat transfer relation therewith, whereby the sulphur in said reservoir is maintained molten by heat transmitted Y from the burner, and means for feeding molten sulphur from the reservoir to thev subliming` chamber.

7. A sulphur burner comprising a subliming chamber at the base thereof adapted to contain a pool of molten sulphur, combustion chambers disposed immediately above the subliming chamber and in communication therewith, a sulphur-melting reservoir at the top of the burner arranged in heat transfer relation therewith, whereby the sul- I .phur in the reservoir is maintained molten by heat transmitted directly from the burner, means for feeding raw sulphur to the reservoir, an air jacket about the burner, and a Apipe extending down.-

Wardly within the air jacket for feeding molten sulphur from .the

chamber.

8. A sulphur burner comprising a subliming chamber at the base thereof, a combustion chamber disposed immediately above' the subliming reservoir to the subliming chamberand in communication therewith, asulphur-melting reservoir on top ofthe sulphurv t burner arranged so as to be heated directly by, j the heat of the sulphur burner whereby the sulphur in the reservoir is maintained molten, means for feeding raw sulphur tothereservoir, a pipe. j:

l for feeding molten sulphur from the reservoir to h the subliming chamber,V a hood covering' said reservoir for carrying away fumes from the melt-'v ingsulphur therein, andv means for raising .the

hood to permit removal .of impuritiesfrom thereservoir.

9. A vertical v sulphur burner comprising`- aV subliming chamber at the base thereof, a combu s'' tion chamber disposed immediately above the subliming chamber and'in communication there.v

with; a sulphur-melting reservoir on top of the burner arranged so as to be heated directly bythe heat of the sulphur burner whereby sulphurfin v the reservoir is maintained in the molten condition, means for feeding raw sulphur to said reser` Voir, a pipe forfeeding Ymolten sulphur from the reservoir to the subliming chamber, a hood covering said reservoir for carrying away-fimiesl from the melting sulphur, means for raising the hood to permit removal'of impurities ,from thereser- Vo1r,' an air jacket surrounding the 'sulphur' burner, and means for conducting heated air 'from said jacket to the interiorfof the hood to create aV draft forcarrying off fumes.

10. A vertical sulphur burner comprising a sub liming chamber at the base thereof adapted to contain a pool ofgmolten sulphuna combustion l chamber disposed immediately above the sublim-,v Y

ing chamber and incommunication therewith,

means for feeding combustion-supporting gasto each of said chambers, anwai'r jacketfsurround- Q ing the combustion chamber, and means, for regulating theiiow of air through said air jacket.

11. A sulphur burner havinga chamber adaptV yed to contain a poolV of molten sulphur, a sul- I phur--melting reservoir heated directly by the heat of the sulphur burner,means fordelivering raw sulphurtosaidreservoir, Vand an overflow pipe4 forjdetermining a level `of molten sulphur in the lreservoir and forfeedingmolten Vsulphur f into thechamber. Y

l2. vA sulphur burner comprising ,a vertically e disposed shell, a'subIimer chamber ingthe botftom of the shell, a combustion chamberI in the shell disposed above and communicating with the sublimer chamber, van air jacket/surrounding the shell, a reservoir adapted to contain a1# supply vof molten sulphur, and a pipe extending downward Within said air jacket to feed molten sulphur from ber.-v e

V, 13. A` sulphur burner comprising-a vertically disposed shell, a chamber in the base of the shell adapted to contain Va pool of moltenjsulphur, means for admitting combustion supporting vgas kto the chamber, a` combustion chamber in the `she1l disposed above and communicating with LOWRY GILLET'IQV "11,150+

the reservoirvto `the sublimer chamy 

